{ A Blessings Jar and the snow has melted }

I strive for a simple life, one where there is not too much confusion around me, too many materialistic things, and more homey, cozy and homemade.  Those little touches that some people call gaudy or old fashioned, are exactly what my soul is attracted to.  I've said many times before that I think I was born not only in the wrong country but in the completely wrong era, and as the years go by, I am more and more convinced of that.

Every day, I try to do something that keeps that thought in the front of my mind.  It doesn't really matter what it is, it could be baking bread, making a crochet doily, using a meat grinder just like the one my great grandmother used to have, or even hanging clothes out to dry.

I'm actually going to be talking about this a little more in an upcoming post, about how I am ready to take back my life from the modernized world we live in.

{ Makes me feel like I'm in Idaho }

When we lived in Idaho, both when I first moved to the States, and then when Curt retired in 2013, snow and winter storms were nothing out of the ordinary.  We knew to expect it during the winter months, and we knew how to deal with them.

Since moving to Texas, snow has been a rare occurrence, and I can even go as far as telling you that since being here since 2015, it has snowed twice, and neither time were anything to write home about.  It was that snow that seems to be melting before it even touches the ground.

Earlier this week we started getting winter alerts on our weather apps.  I paid it no notice.

They said Wednesday night it would start coming down and would persist through Friday.  Still I ignored it.

{ The tree is finally down }

Before I go on and show you what I was up to today, I wanted to start by saying that I'm so thrilled that so many of you are as excited at the thought of taking blogging back to the old days, as I am.

It would be amazing if we could get that sense of community back.  I feel that over the years it's been lost and blogging has become so commercialized that it's hard to find like minded bloggers who are as devoted to their homemaking and family, as some of us are.

I'm lucky in a way that I'm still surrounded by some many blog readers who have been on this journey with me for many, and I mean many years, women who share the same interests and who I have a lot in common with.

{ The Long Way Home by Kevin Bannister - TLC Book Tour }

Pages: 348 Pages
Publisher: Fireship Press (September 15, 2016)

Set in the turbulent times of the War of Independence, ‘The Long Way Home’ follows the lives of Thomas Peters and Murphy Steele who are friends, former slaves, fellows-in-arms and leaders of the Black Brigade. Their real-life story is an epic adventure tale as they battle bounty hunters, racism, poverty and epidemic in their adopted country after the war.

‘The Long Way Home’ has resonated with readers around the world as an unforgettable account of courage, hope and determination triumphing over despair and injustice. Thomas Peters, thoughtful and charismatic, and Murphy Steele, strong and impulsive, lead their followers on an inspirational search for a place where they can be free.

{ Starting the year in the kitchen }

There is nothing I quite like more, than being in my kitchen baking and cooking.

And that is how I chose to begin my year, doing what I love to do.